EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Automotive Invitational

It has been a banner year for Nihon steel at Monterey Car Week. The annual series of ultra-prestigious automotive events have traditionally excluded Japanese cars, but 2018 saw, for example, Nissan become the first carmaker from Japan to be honored as a featured marque at the Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. On the southern end of the peninsula, upscale sibling Infiniti held an event of a different sort, bringing the first-ever Japanese car show to Pebble Beach.

To be clear, the show wasn’t actually inside the swank Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance. That shindig is still very much reserved for Ruxtons, Voisins, and Hispano-Suizas. The inaugural Japanese Automotive Invitational was, shall we say, Concours adjacent –technically located in the community of Pebble Beach, California, but in reality a good 10 minute walk from the edge of the exclusive show.

If it wasn’t a true showing of Japanese steel at the famed gathering of classics, then what was it? In fact, it was a bit of a marketing stunt by Motor Trend for Infiniti, an event designed to attract eyeballs to Nissan’s luxury brand. So while the event didn’t arise organically for the purposes of showcasing the rich history of Japanese cars, Infiniti should be commended for their willingness to welcome cars from rival companies into their exhibit.

Toyota, Lexus, Honda and Subaru all lent cars from their own collections to the cause. Funnily enough, no Nissan- or Datsun-branded cars came from HQ because they were all at Laguna Seca. The majority of the Nissans, along with a range of JDM cars never sold stateside, came from private owners.

The assemblage was a pretty good primer on Japanese motoring. Naturally, blue chip classics like the Nissan Fairlady Z432, Mazda Cosmo Sport, and Toyota 2000GT were represented. In particular, the latter was the long lost second car built for the movie You Only Live Twice, felt freshly restored and owned by 2000GT Club president Takeshi Moroi. JDM Legends brought a Safari Gold Hakosuka GT-R. We suppose you could lump the Acura NSX in there too.

As expected, the gallery also included a spectrum of Japan’s enduring class of super-compact kei cars. They spanned decades and buddy styles, from a Subaru Sambar pickup to a Mazda R360 to an Autozam AZ-1.

A herd of trucks told another part of the Japanese auto industry’s story, that its rise was thanks to workhorses as well. The 4WD beasts of burden included a 1972 Suzuki Jimny, FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser, and Nissan Patrol.

Subaru of America brought a 1969 360 Deluxe and a 1978 BRAT all the way from their New Jersey headquarters. Toyota USA shipped out a 1989 Lexus LS 400 prototype and a Eagle IMSA GTP race car. Honda of America lent their Serial One N600 and Civic CVCC to the festivities. It was a rare showing of solidarity among rival firms.

Of course, it was Infiniti’s party and so its own display took center stage. The family portrait included top-spec versions of their early cars, including a Q45 Touring (the very one we drove on the occasion of its 25th anniversary), J30 Touring, and M30. The FX, oddly enough, was an FX35 rather than an FX45, and in the wrong shade of A50 Autumn Copper instead of the model’s trademark R12 Liquid Copper.

A private collector added some much-needed JDM spice to the show with one of the most interesting specimens, a 1974 Cherry X-1R, but it almost didn’t happen. He told us that he had several cars that Infiniti really wanted — namely, the Mitsubishi Galant GTO, Autozam and Bellett — and agreed to lend them only on the condition that the Cherry also be included.

The title of most unexpected car to show up on US shores went to the Dome Zero. The wild concept wedge came on loan from the Dome Museum in Japan.

Sprinkle a few 90s icons in the mix — R32 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs, a couple of Pike cars, a DA Acura Integra GS-R, and first-gen Legend coupe — and it was a decent cross-section of important Japanese cars.

The show wasn’t without its gaps. The absence of cars like the Honda S800, first-generation Toyota Celica, and FD Mazda RX-7 was noticeable, but considering that the event came together in an irresponsibly short amount of time, the result was laudable. Plus, it gives them opportunities to change it up in future events.

As far as we know, the official Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance has yet to admit a Japanese car. In 2014 when a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM coupe won Best of Show, it was the first post-war car in 46 years to have been awarded the grand prize. And a car that would’ve been a headliner at any other show, the win was considered controversial. So while Japanese cars aren’t welcome behind the velvet ropes yet, perhaps this event, even if it’s not in the PBCD’E proper, will nudge the gatekeepers in the right direction.

This is a very notable car indeed. While the Main one in the Toyota Museum was brought back to Japan in the 70s from Hawaii, this 2nd car was considered lost and has been elusive for decades. Owned by noted 2000GT collector and club president
Takeshi Moroi, it’s appearance at the Petersen and display at Pebble marks it’s emergence from hiding after a thorough restoration. I am gathering information on this particular car and hopefully find out it’s amazing journey back to the spotlight.

To be fair, there are only a handful of cars rare enough and restored well enough to slot into a class at Pebble Beach, Japanese or otherwise. Cars with build quantities over 100 will have to have a real special story, or be absolute best-of-the-best example to qualify. There was an unbelievable Mazda Cosmo series 1 at Concours on the Ave which I thought might be nice enough, and the 2000GT cabrio is certainly a contender, provided the provenance is firmly established. Any prototypes could probably be accepted if there’s an appropriate prototype class that given year. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a Japanese Postwar GT class in the near future.

One thing to keep in mind is that the classes change annuually, so they may have a Japanese class one year, but then go another 10 years before they have another.

I don’t think a car that was made for a movie (the 2000GT cabrio) could ever qualify.
And prototypes by definition are rough, and never intended to be production-ready.
Are there even ANY limited production Japanese vehicles, other than the Toyota Century Royal, and Nissan Prince Royal, made only for the Emperor?

Worth adding- props to Infiniti for even attempting this Japanese show. I thought it this was a very nice show, especially given the lack of time they had to put everything together. Hopefully they will embrace and extend the concept in a be coming years. I’d also hope to see a show like this a little more connected to the concours, by having it on the grass area en route to the show, instead of adjacent to the parking lot on a bark field.

Impressed. A Dome Zero. Kudos.
I bet quite a few people thought the Dome was a Giugiaro or a Gandini-penned design. It was designed by Minoru Hayashi.
SHHHH! (whispering) The Dome Zero was powered by a… L28E engine. Yes, the same motor as the 280Z.

The 2018 Japanese Automotive Invitational started off more like a whisper instead of a bang. Which is okay by me. Every car there was exemplary and quite a few were sprung from private collections and museums. Among everything already mentioned, a 1975 Isuzu 117 Coupe and 1959 Nissan 220 Pickup were also stunners. I just came back from the Petersen Museum where several cars from one of their feature exhibits were shipped and present on the lawn at JAI. Its quite a different experience to stand next to a car outdoors and to observe the exact same car on a podium under perfect museum lighting. While there may not have been quantity, the quality of what was there was worth the effort to get out and see it. It was an admirable start to what I hope will be an annual event.